Culinary Tourism in Iceland The Food Chest Skagafjorur

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Culinary Tourism in Iceland The Food Chest
Skagafjorður
International Culinary Tourism Association
Conference San Francisco ? 3rd April 2005
Laufey Haraldsdóttir, DVM Department of Rural
Tourism Studies Hólar University College, Holar,
Iceland and Iain Murray, PhD School of
Hospitality and Tourism Management University of
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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góðan daginn

• Iceland, Skagafjorður, and
• the current state of things culinary
• This project what and why?
• The Players
• Data collection
• What next?

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Where is Iceland?
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The Food Chest Skagafjorður
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A Little History
older
newer

• No indigenous population
• Mixture of Norse and Celtic descendants
• First settled by Irish Monks 560 AD, then
  Norwegian Vikings in 874
• Norwegian until 1397, then Danish until 1944
• Cod Wars lead to 200-mile fishing limit
• (1952, 1958, 1972, 1975)

• Beer legalized in 1989
• 47.5 hour work week
• Building aquaculture exports (Arctic Charr)
• Self-sufficient in meat, dairy and fish
• Rich in hydro-electric and geothermal capacity
• Sustainable fishing
• Hot house vegetables

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Iceland Land of Fire and Ice

• Climate/Terrain
• Averages -5º to 12º C, but much variation due
  to mountains, prevailing winds, and N.A. Drift
• About the size of Kentucky
• Short days in mid-winter, long in summer
• Mountains, glaciers, geysers, hot spring,
  volcanoes, Arctic desert
• Population
• 293,000 total
• 180,000 in Reykjavik
• 4,000 in Skagafjordur Region

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• Economy
• Strong economy, low unemployment and low
  inflation
• 75 of foreign exchange earnings is fishing
• aluminum, ferrosilicon, tourism (13)
• Tourism
• Average 9 growth in foreign tourists from 1991
  to 2000
• 13 growth in foreign tourists from 2003 to 2004
• Season is primarily June to September
• 2004 360,000 foreign visitors
• 21 Nordic countries, 16 Germany, 14 North
  America, 13 British Isles, 8 France
• Main reason for visit is the nature, then history
  and culture

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Food in Iceland

• Today
• fish, seafood
• Arctic Charr
• lamb
• folaldakjöt
• dairy
• pylsa, burgers and fries
• coffee, brennevin, beer, water
• fresh tomatoes cucs
• Reykjavik restautants are a Mecca of modern
  culinary talent

• 100 years ago
• Þorrablót
• shark, whale, cod
• hangikjöt
• sheep head
• folaldakjöt
• puffin
• laufabrauð
• súrmjólk
• brennevin
• smoked, salted, pickled,
• dried whatever-they-had

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The Food Chest Skagafjorður

• This project what and why?
• The Players
• The Issues

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The Food Chest Skagafjorður

• Holar University College University of Guelph
• Culinary tourism project initiated in 2003
• Principal objective of developing culinary
  tourism in rural areas in Iceland
• The role of food in tourism, economic impact to
  the area, cooperation
• Culinary tourism has the capacity to regenerate
  rural areas

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INCREASING ECONOMIC ACTIVITY inSKAGAFJÖRÐUR
REGION
Import
Export
Visitors/Tourists/Guests -domestic
international -focus on culinary tourism
Product -producers/manufacturers
-processors
-mulitplier effect -restaurants -accommodations -s
ervices -automotive -postal
-airport -retail -grocery -gasoline
-souvenirs - clothing
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Northern Icelands Tourism Web
Accommodations
Restaurants
Grocery Retail
Tourists
fish/seafood
Food Processors
dairy
Whale Watching
Recreation
Food Producers
fishing
Horses
sheep
Back Country
cattle
Culture
Fishing
Golf
Rafting
horses
Hiking
cottage
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The Food Chest Skagafjorður
The Players -farmers/producers
-manufacturers -processors
-restaurateurs -accommodations
-retailers -artisans -Hólaskóli
-Skagafjörður -Byggðastofnun

• The Issues
• -leadership (champion) -cooperation
• -critical mass -cluster formation
• -supply chain -trust

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The Food Chest Skagafjorður

• Research and Publication
• Murray, I.P. and Haraldsdóttir, L. (2004).
  Developing a Rural Culinary Tourism Product
  Considerations and Resources for Success. ASAC
  2004. Quebec (Quebec).
• Experiments with
• restaurants
• grocery retail
• accommodation providers
• producers and processors

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• Research and Results

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Data collection Summer 2004

• Self-administrated 4-page, 35-question survey
• Distributed in Skagafjorður Region through
• Most tourism operators and restaurateurs
• Active encouragement absolutely necessary
• 505 questionnaires completed
• 183 Icelandic, 165 English, 157 German

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Results

• ?Respondent profile
• Nationality (N 492) N ()
• Icelandic 164 33
• German 122 25
• UK and Nordic 62 13
• Other Europe 97 20
• Non Europe 47 9
• Gender (N 498) N ()
• Male 229 46
• Female 269 54

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Results

• ?Respondent profile
• Education (N 490) N ()
• University degree 298 61
• Trade school 83 17
• Secondary school 80 16
• Primary school 29 6
• Age (N 469)
• Average 46 years

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?Q.7. I am interested in the local cusine in the
places I visit (N505)

• N
• strongly agree 200 40
• somewhat agree 176 35
• ?male 168 45
• ?female 203 54
• ?university education 239 64
• ?trade school 63 17
• ?secondary/primary school 64 17
• ?aged 27-36 55 15
• ?aged 37-46 95 25
• ?aged 47-56 69 18
• ?aged 57-66 67 18

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Q.7. I am interested in the local cusine in the
places I visit (cont)

• strongly agree or somewhat agree by
  nationality
• N
• Icelandic 99 60
• German 100 82
• UK and Nordic 47 76
• Other Europe 81 84
• Non Europe 40 85

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? Q.10. I am inclined to look for locally made
food products in the grocery stores (N505)

• N
• strongly agree 125 25
• somewhat agree 172 34
• ?male 134 45
• ?female 161 54
• ?university education 186 63
• ?trade school 43 15
• ?secondary/primary school 60 20
• ?aged 27-36 42 14
• ?aged 37-46 73 25
• ?aged 47-56 58 20
• ?aged 57-66 59 20

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Q.10. I am inclined to look for locally made food
products in the grocery stores (cont)

• strongly agree or somewhat agree by
  nationality
• N
• Icelandic 61 37
• German 92 75
• UK and Nordic 40 65
• Other Europe 66 68
• Non Europe 32 68

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? Q. 11. I usually purchase some non-perisable
food/beverage items to take home with me (N503)

• N
• strongly agree 78 16
• somewhat agree 123 25
• ?male 89 44
• ?female 109 54
• ?university education 121 60
• ?trade school 27 13
• ?secondary/primary school 46 23
• ?aged 27-36 24 12
• ?aged 37-46 51 25
• ?aged 47-56 35 17
• ?aged 57-66 43 21

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Q. 11. I usually purchase some non-perisable
food/beverage items to take home with me (cont)

• strongly agree or somewhat agree by
  nationality
• N
• Icelandic 49 30
• German 54 44
• UK and Nordic 25 40
• Other Europe 50 52
• Non Europe 19 40

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Q.12. I appreciate having a restaurant waiter or
waitress inform me about menu items that are
specialties of the region (N 502)

• N
• strongly agree 240 48
• somewhat agree 169 34
• ?male 187 46
• ?female 215 53
• ?university education 245 60
• ?trade school 65 16
• ?secondary/primary school 86 21
• ?aged 27-36 65 17
• ?aged 37-46 99 24
• ?aged 47-56 78 19
• ?aged 57-66 75 18

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Q.12. I appreciate having a restaurant waiter or
waitress inform me about menu items that are
specialties of the region (cont)

• strongly agree or somewhat agree by
  nationality
• N
• Icelandic 125 76
• German 100 82
• UK and Nordic 47 76
• Other Europe 83 86
• Non Europe 44 94

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Q.13. In a restaurant, I like to try foods that
are made from local products (N 503)

• N
• strongly agree 264 53
• somewhat agree 162 32
• ?male 191 45
• ?female 228 54
• ?university education 259 61
• ?trade school 67 16
• ?secondary/primary school 87 20
• ?aged 37-46 105 25
• ?aged 47-56 80 19
• ?aged 57-66 77 18

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Q. 13. In a restaurant, I like to try foods that
are made from local products (cont)

• strongly agree or somewhat agree by
  nationality
• N
• Icelandic 125 76
• German 109 89
• UK and Nordic 52 84
• Other Europe 88 91
• Non Europe 42 89

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• What Next?
• Long Term Plans
• culinary retail
• culinary festival
• culinary trail
• culinary education / history

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Grocery Store Main Entrance Signage
Welcome to Skagafjorður Region We in
Skagafjorður are very proud of our region and our
way of life. Throughout this store, look for
this sign and you will find products that are
produced in Skagafjorður. We hope you will try
them. We are confident that you will like them.
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Grocery Store Point-of-Sale Signage

• Skagafjorður Dairy Products
• Milchprodukte aus dem Skagafjord
• These are among the best dairy products in the
  world, partly because our cattle range free for
  most of the year.
• Diese Milchprodukte gehören zu den Besten der
  Welt, unter anderem weil die Kühe zum größten
  Teil des Jahres freilaufend sind.
• We hope you will try them. We are confident that
  you will like them.
• Wir hoffen Sie probieren diese Produkte. Wir sind
  überzeugt davon, dass Sie sie mögen.

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Restaurant Menu - Concept
Aðalréttir
Main Courses

• Gufusoðin ysa með Rækjum 2270
• og grænmeti
• Fresh Haddock gently steamed in its own juices,
  with shrimp and fresh vegetables

Jökulhús Specialty Hólableikja með Rækjusósu og
grænmeti Arctic Charr from Hólar, with shrimp
sauce Delivered fresh five times a week from
Hólar Hjaltadalur, this delicately flavoured fish
is prepared by Chef Inga and includes fresh
shrimp from our Skagafjorður region. 2490
Lambasneiðar 2670 í krydduðum brauðraspi
Lamb cutlet with paprika seasoned bread crumb
crust This locally raised lamb ranges free for
most of the year, and, as a result, will be sure
to delight your senses. Jökulhus receives it
fresh three times a week. This recipe was
passed down to Chef Inga, from an original dating
back to 1855. If you enjoy lamb, you will love
this.
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